Out of Character Discussion

[marionarsis]

That opening post: fantastic! 

[andrew]

Thanks. I hope you enjoy the rest of the game as well.

[andrew]

The first thing I'm house-ruling about the rules is the piece on gun jamming, which is far too high a %. (So you're getting a break here).

Using quality ammo, and a quality gun that's been broken in (100 rounds and a cleaning), and taking into consideration the law of averages, a dirty gun, temp and humidity, there's roughly 0.3% chance of a gun jamming on any given shot. So 1 out of 300 rounds would be about the average (as an example, I've fired hundreds of rounds and never had a gun jam on me).

a)If one is using poor quality ammo the percentage increases. Possibly 1%.

b)If the gun is brand new and was not cleaned before its initial firings, the percentage increases. Possibly as high as 5%.

Neither A nor B fit Jacob's case, who's gone through gun training and has a skill-2 in clip pistol, and works for a company where keeping a high proficiency in firearms is expected.

So, if you roll a "3" when firing a gun, roll 2d6 again. A second result of "3" will result in a gun jam.

[marionarsis]

Question: Is there some event that would be memorable to Phelps that Jacob would recall? Something that only the real Phelps would know but that wouldn't be in a personnel file? 

[andrew]

Phelps would know Jacob began his college career at Colgate, then transferred to Dartmouth. Jacob's personnel file would only show that he graduated from Dartmouth. We can say that through conversation, office chitchat, Phelps learned of Jacob spending his freshman year at Colgate.

[marionarsis]

It was definitely a fun game. One of the best I've played in, irrespective of format. The string of failed checks, bad rolls, eventually caught up with me. I do have some questions. When I think of them all, I'll send you a nice long PM. Hopefully, my character will do better/roll better in the T&T game 

[marionarsis]

Now that this game of MSPE is over, when do we start the next one? 

[andrew]

Dec 31, 2015 11:57:32 GMT -5 marionarsis said:

Now that this game of MSPE is over, when do we start the next one? 

LOL. I'm pleased you liked the first game. As for another, I have nothing planned. I sort of feed off the background and ideas of the player(s). If you have something in mind, run it past me, and I'll mull it over and see if I can make it work. 

[andrew]

Mar 26, 2022 3:25:26 GMT -5 michaelsotired said:

Reading this seven years later (!), and I just have to say: This was wonderful. An amazing, amazing read. It was tense, it was intriguing, it was fast moving, the works. Like a John le Carré novel in the future. Completely enjoyable. Both of you are deeply talented role-players and writers, with a knack for espionage fiction, and this made it all so, so much better.


I was riveted.


And I guess my issue about solo games like these is exactly what ultimately happened: An amazing, well-thought-out game is ended, through no fault of the player, but because of randomly-generated rolls no one has any control over. It was only a matter of time until marionarsis missed some key rolls and wound up dead (had Jacob missed a roll during the Syringe Fight, we never would’ve even gotten to the airport, much less the amazing plot twists). It’s almost a mathematical impossibility that these games will end with anything other than a player dying prematurely, which seems like such a waste. This game was splendid.


And so, seven years, a pandemic and a war later, I HAVE to ask: What was the plot? Can you share? 

Wow! John le Carré?!

I’m flattered beyond comprehension. It’s been awhile since I've haunted this board, so thank you so much for the kind words; it makes me feel glad all over and my face is turning redder than it already was.

It definitely takes two to tango in these things, and Marionarsis was, and is, a great player, a great writer. He’s continued to game with me via play-by-post and is the one that alerted me to your gracious words here.

The rest of the story, you ask? Let’s see ... The only good guy in the game, other than the PC, was the contact in the cafe--whom the PC kills. What Phelps told the PC in post 1 was a lie, the PC wasn’t killed by the contact, but rather by his backup in the cafe, the guy with the Sig Sauer, an NDL agent.

The PC is killed because it was feared he’d learn the truth in those coded messages absconded from the Araby Intelligence Network, that the NDL is a shadow organization, started by rogue operatives within the CIA, who are working against the West, unbeknownst to the PC (and all but the top brass in the NDL).

Everything is reset (spy trips) because it’s the contact that made the escape with the information and has learned the truth, sending the NDL into panic. The NDL is down to their last attempt at a spy trip due to ... “resources,” so they must get things right, which to them is killing Jacob, killing the contact, and getting the information--they can’t get that info without Jacob. It’s here our tale begins.

Other stuff:

I ran this game on two other occasions on other sites and the players survived, making it to the ending, but I don’t think either achieved the ultimate win. In the game here with Jacob, yeah, he missed three saving rolls in a row at a critical time. It happens.

Coincidentally, I’m GMing another MSPE game elsewhere as I write this, a hardboiled, noir detective game set in the 1930s. It’s with four players each in their own private thread playing solo. One player has completed the game, and the other three are still at it---14 months, 4,300+ posts thus far. So, MSPE is alive somewhere.


On play-by-post games in general:

I’d been GMing games PbP for five years before The Spy Trip and I’m still at it to this day, 2010-2022, with posts Monday-Friday (that’s my rule for my players, YMMV), weekends off, but most players post on the weekends anyway.

It works!

Don’t let anyone tell you, or try to convince you that play-by-post doesn’t work or is in some way less of an experience than around a tabletop. Having done PbP for over 10 years, Tabletop for over 20, I can tell you PbP is, IMHO, superior to gaming around a table. It WILL take you time to find good players (if you’re a GM), and a good GM (if you’re a player).

Time Frame in PbP or How long does it take to play a module? I GM’d Castle Amber, that classic module for another game, and completed it in January. It took 19 months, 4,000 posts, and that was with a fully fleshed out Averoigne, NPCs, side treks, the works. Isle of Darksmoke, I did here with my own take on the 2nd Level, and it took 10 months. There you have it!


Again, thanks for the kind words, I’m glad you enjoyed the read and never forget one thing: truly, undeniably...

... Everyday is game day when you play-by-post!

[michaelsotired]

It’s funny: You write something seven years after the fact, you never really think anyone is going to notice — seven years is a long time — and so I’m so glad someone did. Spy Trip was wonderful; both you and marionarsis are fantastic storytellers. And I'm sticking with the le Carré comparison, even more now that I know the plot. Incredibly intricate. And hard! Once the PCs kills the contact, they’re on their own for the rest of the game? Good heavens.

I grew up playing rpgs in the 80s, and so PbP is new to me. I think I prefer the communal aspect of the tabletop format a bit more, but it’s clear that PbP works amazingly well for you, which is fantastic. It seems to allow for a much deeper — and longer! — level of engagement than the tabletop, which is interesting.

The noir detective adventure sounds mouth-watering; I occasionally run a MSPE mystery-thriller set in the 1950s with a small group on Discord, and so I’d be very curious about the hardboiled adventure. Might I ask where you post these? I’d love to read along. 

Glad you’re still around. Please tell marionarsis I said thanks.

[michaelsotired]

And thanks again for responding, andrew !

[andrew]

Mar 29, 2022 23:11:25 GMT -5 michaelsotired said:

The noir detective adventure sounds mouth-watering; I occasionally run a MSPE mystery-thriller set in the 1950s with a small group on Discord, and so I’d be very curious about the hardboiled adventure. Might I ask where you post these? I’d love to read along. 

michaelsotired,

I sent you a PM.